The America's Cup has existed since 1851 and not once has Britain won it in the intervening years. But is that about to change?

The British challenger for the event's next running in 2017 is certainly the strongest, the one that has all the right ingredients for success.

For one it has royal approval from Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge. She's probably the most famous person on the planet right now, certainly the most photographed, and to have her present for the official Cup challenge launch of Ben Ainslie Racing was an unbelievable coup.

But her role doesn't stop there. She's a keen sailor herself and, rather than just being a face of the team, she wants to have a hands-on role as well. FULL POST

The first thing to say about this year's America's Cup between Team Oracle USA and Emirates Team New Zealand is that the racing has been amazing - and it is not often you can say that in sailing.

To watch boats literally flying - up and out of the water, and only held into it by tiny carbon foils - has been mind-blowing. I've watched it from all angles and just did not expect to be as impressed as I was. FULL POST

About Shirley Robertson

Shirley Ann Robertson OBE made it in the history books by becoming the first British woman to win two Olympic Gold Medals at consecutive Games, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. Shirley started sailing at the age of 7 in a Mirror Miracle dinghy which her father built from a kit in the garage of their home in Clackmannanshire, Scotland and they sailed on Loch Ard in the Trossachs. By the late 1990s she had won silver medals at the 1998, 1999 and 2000 Europe Class World Championships and competed in the 1992 Barcelona Games and 1996 Atlanta Games. In 2000 Shirley proved beyond doubt that she had mastered her class by winning gold at the Millennium Olympic Games in Sydney. As the presenter of Mainsail she has travelled the world covering the sport of sailing – including the Americas Cup, the Vendee Globe and the Volvo Ocean race.